ENFJ

The ENFJ is the people organiser, warm, harmonious and an enthusiastic champion of people who just wants to ‘do good.’ They make sure the needs of the people are paramount, placed in pole position on the agenda, and taken care of. They are excellent networkers who tune into what others want and are generally well-liked and popular among their colleagues. The have an innate sense of what is required and can genuinely make others feel really special. They can generally be found at the emotional heart of a group or body and will be the one making sure things get done.

Like their ENTJ cousins they are great ones for getting on and doing but with a much more people focus than task focus, but with no less energy, commitment or vigour. Articulate and confident the ENFJ will be persuasive and tenacious; the one voted the leader or committee chair-person. Everyone knows they can depend on the ENFJ.

As ‘Thinking’ is their weaker function, the ENFJ may suffer at times from being overly subjective and lacking a colder, slightly more dispassionate objective eye on proceedings. This also means the ENFJ may bite off more that they can chew as their first priority is to say ‘yes’ and take the pain away for others. During such times the ENFJ may feel weighed down by the amount of work to which they have committed and so see themselves as ‘victim,’ overwhelmed and underappreciated.

They want to please, impress and make sure things run like clockwork and when others let them down the ENFJ can be VERY disappointed. This desire to ‘do good’ can also mean that the ENFJ sees pleasing others as far more important than pleasing themselves and so they may run the risk of trading off honesty for harmony, keeping the peace rather than telling it like it is.

The ENFJ has high drive, bundles of energy and a commitment to ‘the cause,’ (whatever that cause is) which borders on the evangelical. Their energy levels increase the more functions they have to attend, the more people they have to meet and the more activities they have to organise. They can juggle masses of activities and tasks at any one time, rarely dropping the ball and making sure each activity is given the right amount of attention and loving care. This desire to ‘get it done’ can at times mean that the ENFJ becomes inflexible and a ‘controlling parent’ in their desire to ‘finish what we’ve started.’ Under such pressure they can lose their sense of balance and perspective but will ultimately bounce back because that is just what the ENFJ is built for.

The ENFJ is the action-oriented, people-centred character. They will look for and make connections between people, be excellent glue for the team and make sure that everything is planned, scheduled and organised. An ENFJ is astutely empathetic picking up on the nuances and making sure people are happy.

Their decisions are based on values, impact on people and establishing harmony. The action-oriented side of the ENFJ character means that they will readily assume responsibility, and drive issues through to closure. Primarily these will be people issues or issues which directly affect people. In this sense they make good 'committee people,' bringing others in and involving them but ensuring there is a clear output which benefits all.

An ENFJ will use their considerable energies and enthusiasm to make things happen and these characteristics are infectious and can be excellent at creating a feeling of 'team.' As the ENFJ will be creative, expressive, animated and with the desire to get things done they will be excellent at creating and maintaining group morale.

Their desire to take control and bring order and harmony can also mean that the ENFJ may, at times, 'rail-road' others who are looking for a more gentle approach as they are so keen to get to closure. As the ENFJ wants to 'do good,' they may become a 'controlling parent' and assume they know what's best.

At times they may also rely too much on their intuitive understanding of individuals, thus failing to making logical, empirical decisions based on objective facts and evidence, and the ENFJ may see good where none exists.

The 'N' perspective also means that the ENFJ may fail to see the smaller 'facts,' focusing instead on 'global harmony.' This would see the ENFJ move too quickly and make decisions based on a scant amount of facts. Their sensitivity can also work two ways. Sure the ENFJ will be sensitive to the needs of others but this sensitivity can mean the ENFJ is overly reactive to perceived criticism of them. In these instances, the ENFJ may become self-indulgent and feel that their good intentions are being undervalued.

Many ENFJs have tremendous power to manipulate others with their phenomenal interpersonal skills and unique salesmanship. But it's usually not meant as manipulation - ENFJs generally believe in their dreams, and see themselves as helpers and enablers, which they usually are.

ENFJs are, by definition, Js, with whom we associate organization and decisiveness. But they don't resemble the SJs or even the NTJs as they are organised in the arena of interpersonal affairs. Their offices may or may not be cluttered, but their conclusions (reached through feelings) about people and motives are drawn much more quickly and are more resilient than those of their NFP counterparts.

ENFJs know and appreciate people. Like most NFs, (and Feelers in general), they are apt to neglect themselves and their own needs for the needs of others. They have thinner psychological boundaries than most, and are at risk of being hurt or even abused by less sensitive people. ENFJs often take on more of the burdens of others than they can bear.

In a team situation, the ENFJ will be the harmonious team builder, good at maintaining group morale, accentuating the positive and encouraging contributions from all team members making the team more open and participative.